1873-1927

German physiologist and pharmacologist who studied the regulation of balance in the inner ear and the many automatic reflex actions by which a human body maintains posture. While a medical student, he published a method for measuring blood pressure in an exposed artery. Specializing in pharmacology, Magnus studied the role of arsenic in the gut, and water-balance in tissues. In 1904 he devised the standard method for studying the responses of isolated muscle. At the time of his sudden death at age 53, he was under consideration for the Nobel Prize.